''La Belle Verte'' (; ''The Beautiful Green'', title in English: ''Visit to a Green Planet'') is a 1996

French film French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary influ ...

written and directed by

Coline Serreau Coline Serreau (born 29 October 1947) is a French actress, film director and writer. Early life and education She was born in Paris, the daughter of theatre director Jean-Marie Serreau and actress Geneviève Serreau. In Paris, Serreau studi ...

and starring Serreau,

Vincent Lindon Vincent Lindon (born 15 July 1959) is a French actor and filmmaker. For his role in the film '' The Measure of a Man'' (2015), Lindon won Best Actor at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Best Actor at the 41st César Awards and the IFFI Best Actor A ...

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has received ...

and

Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 1953) is a Belgian comedian, actress, film director and screenwriter. She has won three César Awards from four nominations. Career She made her cinematic debut with director Agnès Varda in two movies: Sept pi� ...

. Serreau also composed the original music score. It was filmed on location in Australia and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Synopsis

On the Beautiful Green, a

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...

planet much smaller than

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, during the yearly planetary meeting, Mila, a rather young woman – by the reckoning of her people, at any rate – volunteers to go as a messenger to planet Earth. It has been two hundred years since the old sage Osam was there, along with Mila's father. At the time of his visit, he recounts, the people of Earth lived in bad conditions. It was the time of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and the people of Earth were still using money – a notion that baffles even the wisest folk of the Beautiful Green. In time, we find out that important historical figures such as

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

and

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

had come from this very planet. No one on the Beautiful Green wishes to go to Earth; their opinion of Earth actually isn't all that flattering. They see the people of Earth as un-evolved, and unwilling to change. Mila, however, who knows that her mother was from Earth, is the only one to volunteer, and so is sent to Earth for the purpose of bringing back news of how things have worked out since the nineteenth century. She also wishes to find out more about her parents, although this thread seems to be abandoned quite early on in the story. Before she departs, she is given so-called "disconnection" programs – mental devices that allow her to induce life-changing epiphanies in the people she converses with, and even more radical changes, when she uses a version of it with a stronger dosage. She will remain in touch with her home planet via telepathy. Once on Earth, Mila cannot eat the local food, and so, as a source of energy, she needs a baby to partake in what seems to be an exchange of resources. She sneaks into a hospital nursery, where she meets Théodore, the baby, and eventually, Masha, the nurse. Masha is alarmed to find Mila there, and at first, mistakes her for the mother of the child, a refugee gone missing. Max, a medical officer who seems very fond of the authority he wields, is about to interfere when he is the first to receive a full blast of higher-dosage "disconnection", which sends him stuttering that he has never known how to give birth, and that the nurse is really the expert in that regard. He then becomes a friend of Mila's, and she comes to stay in his home, where he and his wife share a seemingly unhappy marriage. As the mother of the child is missing, the social services are about to take charge of him when Masha smuggles him out to stay with her and her sister, Sonia, in their apartment. As Mila helps to hide the baby from the two functionaries that intend to take the baby away, she "disconnects" them too. She communicates with her sons telepathically, and they get a glimpse of Masha and Sonia. They wish to come join their mother on Earth to meet the breathtaking sisters they have just seen, but Osam misses his aim, and they land in the Australian desert, where they meet aboriginal people just as evolved as they are. They are very surprised – this does not look like what their mother had described. Eventually, they make it to an airport, and from there on, the film narrates how they will come to meet each other. In the end, Mila and her sons will go back to the Beautiful Green, bringing along Masha, Sonia and Théodore. Max's marriage will have been fixed, by then, and he will live a happy life in Paris, with his wife and kids. A substantial theme not mentioned above relates to a proposed solution: how the inhabitants of Earth could change their dystopia for a utopia by removing all that causes harm to their life in mass protest. For example, all TV and microwaves are placed in the street.

Cast

as Mila *

as Max * James Thiérrée as Mesaje * Samuel Tasinaje as Mesaul *

as Macha *

Claire Keim Claire Keim (born Claire Lefebvre 8 July 1975) is a French actress and singer. Biography Keim was born in Senlis, Oise to an architect father and a dentist mother. She is in a relationship with French footballer Bixente Lizarazu, and lives in S ...

as Sonia *

Salomé Stévenin Salomé Stévenin (born 29 January 1985) is a French actress. She began her acting career at the age of 3 when she appeared alongside her father in the film '' Peaux des Vaches'' ("Thick Skinned") in 1989. Her recent appearances include the 2002 ...

as Sophie *

as Nicole * Catherine Samie as La femme sage *

Paul Crauchet Paul Crauchet (14 July 1920 – 19 December 2012) was a French actor. Biography As a young man interested in aviation and rugby, Paul Crauchet discovered a passion for the theatre at the age of 23. He settled in Paris in 1945, he studied un ...

as Osam *

Denis Podalydès Denis Podalydès (born 22 April 1963) is a French actor and scriptwriter of Greek descent. Podalydès has appeared in more than 140 films and television shows since 1989. He starred in '' The Officers' Ward'', which was entered into the 2001 Can ...

as Papapote *

Lorella Cravotta Lorella Cravotta (born 9 April 1958) is a French comedian and actress. She is best known for her role in the cult TV series '' Les Deschiens'' (1993–2002), in which she appears alongside Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 19 ...

as The client * Francis Perrin as The Angry BMW driver

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belle Verte 1996 films 1996 comedy films Films directed by Coline Serreau Environmental films Films produced by Alain Sarde Alien visitations in films Films set on fictional planets Films shot in Flinders Ranges 1990s dystopian films French comedy films Films shot in France 1990s French films